Zach Stewart
GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg swimming and diving teams returned from their winter break primed to make a run at a top three spot in the NCAC standings. Their first test back in the pool came against North Coast Athletic (NCAC) and Division III powerhouse Denison, against whom the Tigers fell 182-107 on the men's side and 181-108 in women's competition.
In spite of the tough loss, Head Coach Natalie Koukis' squads turned in quality performances, highlighted by sophomore Zach Stewart (Vincennes, Ind./Lincoln), who scored big points for the Tiger men in the 50 butterfly and on the 800 freestyle relay. Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) continued a sensational junior campaign with a second-place finish in the 50 backstroke, while finishing as the top Tiger in the 100 backstroke as well.
Fellow junior Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) proved that he could stack up well against some of the best in Division III as he went stroke-for-stroke with Denison's Austin Vierra in the 500 freestyle, just getting edged by two seconds. On the women's side, junior Adeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) made an impact for the Tigers, scoring a second-place finish in the 50 back.
Junior Kristin Elber (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) also landed a runner-up spot for the Tigers, taking second in the 50 free. On the diving board, Megan Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) placed second and third in the 1- and 3-meter diving competitions, respectively.
The Tigers look to continue their preparations for the NCAC meet with a quick turn-around for their next competition. They take on the Hiram College Terriers from the HPER Center Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. The meet can be seen live with the Live Video links on the Tiger Sports Network.